Various existing batting practice devices are known which permit a baseball player to practice his or her hitting without the need for a pitcher or pitching machine and a ball chaser.
The patent to Marcyes, U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,326 issued Oct. 17, 1995 discloses a batting practice apparatus that employs a cyclone fence as an upright, rigid support. A rigid, horizontal arm is detachably secured at one end to the top of the fence. At the other end of the horizontal arm is detachably secured the upper end of a vertically extending shock cord. At the other end of the shock cord is attached an anchoring spike. Intermediate the ends of the shock cord is a ball. The shock cord passes freely through the ball along its vertical axis. A tether passes horizontally through the ball at a location confronting the fence. Opposite ends of the tether are removably secured to the fence to form a triangle for adjusting the horizontal location of the ball.
In a patent to Zuber, U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,537, issued Sep. 2, 1997, there is set forth a tether batting practice device which includes a ball, an elongated support arm made from plastic pipe and various plastic fittings, and a strand of flexible material tethering the ball from the support arm. A plastic adaptor fitting is provided on the first end portion of the support arm for removably attaching the support arm to a separate mounting member. A plastic T-fitting is provided on the second end portion of the support arm for providing a rotatable structure on the support arm. A plastic plug fitting is secured to the plastic T-fitting, and the strand is secured to the plastic plug fitting. Various mounting members are disclosed to mount the apparatus on various existing support structures, including a post, a chain link fence, and an umbrella stand base.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,101, issued Aug. 23, 1994 to Lawson et al., a training apparatus for batters includes an arm assembly for rested engagement with a fence or other support. A brace depends from the arm and engages the fence. An elastic tie down urges the brace into fence engagement to lock the arm assembly in place. A tether carried by the arm outer end passes through a baseball which is adjustably supported and placed along the tether by a cable clamp. the lower end of the tether is anchored in a yieldable manner to a fence component. An elastic member serves to inhibit tether movement. The tether is clamped at its upper end of the arm with an end segment clamped in place to a plate on the arm.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,888 issued Dec. 29, 1981 to Ohle, a soccer kicking trainer comprises an elongated mounting arm having a loop at one end preceding a soccer ball attached to the loop by elastic bands and having at the other end an extended elbow extending vertically downward for inserting loosely and pivotably in holding eyes which are attached to a vertical mounting post. The mounting arm is equipped with a biasing element for returning the ball to its original position after it has been kicked.
The existing devices as set forth in the above-noted patents have several drawbacks which need to be overcome. They mount on chain link fences or other vertical supports in a manner which causes deformity or damage to the fence or support. Eventually, they may break away from their support and cause a safety hazard to the batter. They sometimes consist of an unduly number of parts which causes them to be overly complicated, unreasonably expensive or difficult to adjust. Parts of these devices are of a size which makes these devices difficult to transport. In addition, such devices may require special tools or fasteners for assembling and disassembling.
It remains desirable to provide a ball mounted training device which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art without being complex in structure and function. It further remains desirable to provide a batting training device which is swingably mounted relative to a fence or other vertical support in an extremely stable manner. It is also desirable to provide a baseball training kit which is compactly designed to be carried easily in a gym or equipment bag.